1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle that includes a traveling vehicle body supported by left and right drive wheels, and left and right propulsion motors driving the left and right drive wheels.
2. Description of Related Art
The vehicle described above is used, for example, in a work vehicle such as a lawn mower and includes a battery to supply electric power to the left and right propulsion motors. By supplying electric power from the battery to the propulsion motors, axles on each of a left and right drive wheel are rotationally driven by the left and right propulsion motors, respectively, and the vehicle travels forward, backward, and the like (see, e.g., the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,414).
In the vehicle disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,414, left and right drive wheels are positioned on two width-direction ends of a traveling vehicle body such that each of the left and right drive wheels aligns in the width direction of the vehicle body with each of left and right propulsion motors. An installed position of a battery is located such that the propulsion motors and the battery align in the width direction of the vehicle body. In addition, the installed positions of other batteries are located so as to align on front and back sides of the propulsion motors with the propulsion motors therebetween in a front-back direction of the vehicle body.
In the vehicle disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,414, the propulsion motors and the battery are aligned in the width direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, the traveling vehicle body must have a size sufficient to enable the propulsion motor, battery, and propulsion motor to be aligned in that order in the width direction of the vehicle body on both the right and left sides of the width direction of the vehicle body. The traveling vehicle body is thus large in the width direction of the vehicle body.
In addition, when the batteries are positioned so as to align on the front and back sides of the propulsion motors with the propulsion motors therebetween in the front-back direction of the vehicle body, the traveling vehicle body must have a size sufficient to enable the battery, propulsion motor, and battery to be aligned in that order in the front-back direction of the vehicle body. The traveling vehicle body is thus large in the front-back direction of the vehicle body.
Because the propulsion motor is activated by electric power supplied from the battery, a distance and time for which the vehicle can travel on one charge is extended when a capacity of the battery is increased. Therefore, increasing the capacity of the battery is desirable. When the capacity of the battery is increased in order to meet this desire, an installation space for a larger battery must be reserved in the width direction or the front-back direction of the vehicle body and an increasing size of the traveling vehicle body becomes a notable concern in the vehicle according to U.S. Pat. No. 8,240,414.
Thus, a vehicle is desired that is capable of reducing the width-direction and front-back-direction size of the traveling vehicle body while providing left and right propulsion motors and a battery to the traveling vehicle body.